Warning about length (wink). This article is going to be long, really long, because there is no other way around it. There are no miracles and quick fixes as far as quitting smoking is concerned; you need to learn the truth and the truth is always hiding behind facts, waiting for someone to discover it. The truth is hard evidence and not cheap, short one line sentences like smoking is wrong for you, or smoking kills. They are true but the smoker’s mind, like I was eight years ago, doesn’t click with messages like that. If you are a smoker, and you have a genuine interest in quitting, read this article from top to bottom.

From 1993 until 2009, I was a cigarette smoker. It started with one cigarette in 1993 and just before I quit, I was smoking 40 cigs a day! And when a student in Greece, I was smoking easily four packs a day! The only time I wasn’t smoking was when I was sleeping, and I was asleep in a room where I smoked the rest of the day. You could see the ceiling had a yellowish color; that’s the color nicotine becomes when oxidizes. I am telling you these things so you understand that if I managed to quit, you could stop, too. This article is part of a series with smoking as its central theme. I have some others on my blog; my latest was How to Quit Smoking Forever, where I briefly touch on the method someone must use to have a high rate of success of stopping. It was the way I used to quit smoking, and this year, in May 2016, I will be smoke-free for seven years. I mention in my Smoking chapter of my first book, Thirsty for Health, an autobiography basically, every time a year goes by with not even a puff, it’s a cause for celebration because seven years ago, I took my life back; I escaped the prison called Nicotine Addiction. Do not kid yourself, my fellow readers, and especially those who smoke, I was a junkie, I was a drug addict, and my drug was nicotine. The fact that is legal to purchase freely anywhere doesn’t make it any less of a drug and me back then and you today a drug addict.

If you grasp this idea of what you are and position yourself as you exist in society, you will make the connections and decide to get rid of your addiction.

Smoking is just one way of being a prisoner of nicotine; there are other ways a person can continue to be in this highly addictive state and not smoke cigarettes. You have chewing tobacco, snuff (very popular in Sweden), you have nicotine chewing gum and nicotine patches. Don’t kid yourself, these two are not cures from smoking, they are just another way to keep your mind dull and numb to the dopamine releases nicotine creates. It gives a sense of relief and pleasure, when, in reality, you just satisfy a technical and unnecessary addiction that you set up with your first puff years ago.

In this article, I want to recognize, analyze, and ultimately destroy and kick right out of your head all these rationalizations people who smoke use as an excuse so not to stop smoking.. Rationalizations that I also was bringing as arguments when confronted with the truth by other non-smokers.

There are as many rationalizations about not quitting smoking as the number of smokers out there. Millions. Unfortunately, millions die from cancer and other smoking-related illnesses but even more unfortunate is that those millions are replaced daily by new nicotine addicts. Most of them kids and teenagers, young people, the future of our planet, drugged and giving away their lives.

So I chose 16 of them, and I picked 16 of them because that’s how many years I was an ignorant, selfish drug addict with no regard to what was happening around me. The only thing in my mind was to satisfy an addiction, which I created myself, no one else, to meet a false way of life that nicotine imposed on me and finally to satisfy my urges with no regard to the environment around me.

So my fellow people, non-smokers, ex-smokers, and current smokers, let’s begin the catharsis, let’s learn a few useful truths of what smoking is, what nicotine is, and arm ourselves with some solid truthful, factual arguments to use. The non-smokers and ex-smokers can use them when they talk with other smokers and for the smokers to help them come to that realization point that you are a drug addict, and you need to recover to your previous nicotine free state, because trust me, that state is where you will find your true self.

A few words about me. My name is Andreas. Some of my hobbies include hiking, playing basketball, running, cycling, camping (especially near the sea), reading, cooking (especially tasty vegan recipes), dancing, wood sculpting, playing chess, and going out with friends and family.

Reading Time: 3 minutesI received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Running from Color: a novel by Morenike’ is a book about [...] The post Book Review: Running from Color: a novel appeared first on Book Reviews & Weight Loss using a Plant Based Nutrition Diet.

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Reading Time: 2 minutesHealth Connection Between Your Mouth And Body If you’re concerned about your health, you’ve probably gone out of your way to be as healthy as [...] The post Health Connection Between Your Mouth And Body – Infographic Guide appeared first on Book Reviews & Weight Loss using a Plant Based Nutrition Diet.

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A few words about me. My name is Andreas. Some of my hobbies include hiking, playing basketball, running, cycling, camping (especially near the sea), reading, cooking (especially tasty vegan recipes), dancing, wood sculpting, playing chess, and going out with friends and family.

Andreas Michaelides

Fans of the hit NBC series This Is Us finally learned how the beloved character Jack Pearson died, but did they get the full story? In this week’s episode, after a fire breaks out at the Pearson residence, a doctor explains that excessive smoke inhalation stressed Jack’s heart, triggering a massive heart attack that took […]

The president’s recent checkup indicates that he has heart disease. He is not alone. About 92 million American adults are living with some form of cardiovascular disease, and heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the United States.

Get ready for the first plant-powered NFL playoffs: It’s the Tennessee Titans versus the New England Patriots this Saturday at 8:15 p.m. Players from both teams credit their plant-based diets for fueling their path to the playoffs this season.

We all know that we should eat our fruits and vegetables during the holiday season. They not only help prevent holiday weight gain and give our immune systems a boost, but they can brighten up the holiday table, too! This morning, I stopped by Washington’s WJLA today to share ideas for healthy and simple holiday […]

I’m excited to announce that we just launched a podcast: The Exam Room by the Physicians Committee. In each episode, we’ll be examining the knowledge and tools you need to live a long and healthy life.

Americans are drinking less soda. According to a new study, about half of American adults now drink sugary beverages on any given day—down from 61.5 percent in 2003. That’s good news for Americans’ health. But it’s not enough to stop our worsening obesity epidemic.